In for the long haul: Jarryd Hayne says he hasn't considered leaving Parramatta despite their struggles. Photo: Getty Images

“Those are things that excite me.”

A relaxed Hayne seemed a world away from the pressure and expectation that have sat squarely on his shoulders at the Eels in recent years. He makes no secret that the Eels' recent struggles “hasn't been easy” as rain splutters on the windows near where we meet at the Australian team hotel in Manchester.

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Hayne, of course, is without doubt the face of the NRL's worst-performing club in recent years. Regardless, the assertion that if he is “on” then the Eels will fire sits comfortably with him.

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“For me it doesn't bother me, it's not an issue,” Hayne said. “It's more the players around me and for them if they think they can have a relaxed game or cut corners or do things differently because I am there. That's a concern.

“As you get older you start to get a bit more mature and understand the team a bit more and understand the importance of everyone playing together and working hard. There is no point one man being so good and others not. Any team will show that you've got to have good people putting in and being consistent. That's what makes players be great.

“Every time I've done something great I've acknowledged my team for laying the platform for me.”

A hamstring injury cruelled his best season in recent years, after a starring for NSW in Origin I. He has fully recovered from the tear, although he is mindful that the heavy pitches in the UK could cause him to aggravate it.

Aside from success, Hayne – who claimed he has had “more coaches than played positions” – craves stability. You sense the 25-year-old is sick of repeating that the Eels will eventually come good.

Having Hayne be at the peak of his powers consistently is one the major goals for new Eels' coach Brad Arthur. Hayne said he knew what it took for him to be at his optimum.

“By getting the best out of the players around me,” Hayne said. “It's as simple as that.”

“My goals in each game is different. Take Australia for instance. My mentality is to get in there and do my job. There's so much talent in this team that you don't need to make the big play or do something remarkable or win the game. It's about doing my job and whatever I need to do I do it.”

With the Eels clinching their second consecutive wooden spoon, opposition teams started to circle, knowing that the drain could final take its toll on Hayne.

“I've never come close to leaving, haven't even considered it,” Hayne said “I wouldn't leave because there was an offer out there. I would leave because I wanted to leave.

“I love the club and I've been there for a long time. There's no money in the world that could make me go for that. There's nothing that would even make me think twice. I've been approached several times and I am very consistent in where I want to be.”

After missing Australia's first game against England, Hayne is expected to feature in the Kangaroos' next pool game against Fiji.

The match will be “emotional” for Hayne after crediting his 2008 World Cup appearance with Fiji for changing him.

“It's going to be an emotional time knowing how much Fiji impacted my life and it'll stick with me forever,” said Hayne, who has the Fijian logo tattooed on his calf. “I was just so humbled by the boys, it felt like we were a bunch of mates going on a tour of Australia.”